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Lara MThe Commune Cookbook by Crescent Dragonwagon
August 1st 2007 07:27
A suitably obscure author, you can actually purchase Crescent Dragon Wagon’s books through Amazon, though stock is very limited and some books are second hand. She appears to be quite a prolific writer, with several other titles on food.
Crescent Dragonwagon was only 16 when she formed a commune in a house in Brooklyn with several other idealists. The Commune Cookbook is a complete transportation into a 70s world of holistic therapy, pseudonyms, artistry and kitsch slang. The book reflects this in everyway, from the casual swearing to the descriptions and ideologies. All this makes it a very addictive read.
The recipes are what Crescent refers to as ‘healthy food’ and often uses fresh, organic vegetables as well as nutritious additives such as seaweed powder and yeast. She also shares her fascinating theories on food production and the environment. For example, she states that it is more efficient for food to be eaten seasonally and locally. While people complain that this will limit their diet, it is argued that most people really eat a very limited diet anyway, rarely including the wide variety of edible things that can be grown.
There are also amusing anecdotes and allowances for when you are ‘temporarily penniless’ at the end of the week. One solution is ‘end of the week soup’ which is most the boiled offcuts of the week’s vegetables.
A really intriguing read, not just for its recipes but also for its counter-cultural zeal. According to this webpage, the book is also cited in an academic essay, ‘Appetite for Change: How the Counterculture Took on the Food Industry’ by Warren James Belasco.
Really Long Link
Crescent Dragonwagon was only 16 when she formed a commune in a house in Brooklyn with several other idealists. The Commune Cookbook is a complete transportation into a 70s world of holistic therapy, pseudonyms, artistry and kitsch slang. The book reflects this in everyway, from the casual swearing to the descriptions and ideologies. All this makes it a very addictive read.
The recipes are what Crescent refers to as ‘healthy food’ and often uses fresh, organic vegetables as well as nutritious additives such as seaweed powder and yeast. She also shares her fascinating theories on food production and the environment. For example, she states that it is more efficient for food to be eaten seasonally and locally. While people complain that this will limit their diet, it is argued that most people really eat a very limited diet anyway, rarely including the wide variety of edible things that can be grown.
http://www.sxc.hu/photo/806077
There are also amusing anecdotes and allowances for when you are ‘temporarily penniless’ at the end of the week. One solution is ‘end of the week soup’ which is most the boiled offcuts of the week’s vegetables.
A really intriguing read, not just for its recipes but also for its counter-cultural zeal. According to this webpage, the book is also cited in an academic essay, ‘Appetite for Change: How the Counterculture Took on the Food Industry’ by Warren James Belasco.
Really Long Link
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